At the outbreak of war, residents threw themselves – says “Jack” Carroll – “into whatever way they were best able to do their share.”

Some 1,140 of the younger residents voluntarily enlisted for Service overseas. The Mosman Red Cross was outstanding, so much so that their leader was honoured with an M.B.E. decoration. So too, was Mrs. Bennett White (Meta Hayter), organiser of a Concert Troupe of young girls to be known as “The Cheer-ohs”. This band of versatile entertainers in the four years of War and eight years afterwards, raised no less than a sum of £55,000 for the various patriotic and repatriation funds…

An article from New Zealand newspaper The Feilding Star, 17 September 1917. A remarkable story, but also a reminder that the excellent resources of New Zealand’s cultural institutions can be just as useful for researching Australian service men and women. This story, for example, does not appear to be archived in Trove.

Interesting facts have been uncovered whilst indexing several Mosman Daily issues from World War I. This adds to our knowledge of Mosman’s contribution to the Great War effort. The Mosman Daily reveals a snapshot of the Mosman community at this time through original source material.